‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Song From Viral TikTok Singer Makes 2026 Oscars Shortlist

A direct message on social media landed viral singer Aiyana-Lee the opportunity of a lifetime and a potential Oscar nomination.

Aiyana-Lee wrote and performed the title track “Highest 2 Lowest” from Spike Lee’s crime drama by the same name.

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its shortlists (semifinalists) in 12 categories ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards, and the track made the cut in the Best Original Song category.

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The shortlist categories announced include Animated Short Film, Casting, Cinematography, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song, Sound, and Visual Effects.

Aiyana-Lee has a small role in Highest 2 Lowest and performs the song in the final scene when her character Sula auditions in hopes of signing a recording contract with Denzel Washington’s music mogul David King.

The up-and-coming British singer recently told Time magazine she got her big break after Spike Lee spotted one of her videos on Instagram and sent her a direct message.

“He was like, ‘Hey, this is the real Spike Lee.’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. What is happening?’ I saw the verified signs and thought it could be him. He said he’d been listening to my music all night. I believe he stumbled upon ‘My idols lied to me,’ which is a song I wrote and produced that went viral on Instagram and TikTok,” the singer recalled.

She now lives in Los Angeles, which made it possible for her to meet with Lee while he was on the West Coast.

“It was probably 6 a.m., and I woke my mom. I was like, ‘I think Spike Lee DMed me.” She was like, ‘What are you talking about? Go back to bed.’ I met him that very same day,” she said.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker even directed the music video for “Highest 2 Lowest.”

The soulful single is one of 15 tracks to make the cut in the Original Song Oscars category. Other singles in the category include Ariana Grande’s “The Girl In The Bubble” from Wicked: For Good; and two songs from Ryan Coogler’s Sinners — “I Lied To You” and “Last Time (I Seen The Sun).”

Per the film academy, 65 songs were eligible for consideration before members of the music branch voted to decide which tracks would move forward.

Members from various Academy branches voted on the contenders in the shortlist categories. For the first time, the competition includes the new category of achievement in casting.

Oscars nomination voting runs from Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 to Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, and finalists in the shortlisted categories will be decided in the coming weeks.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. The ceremony is scheduled to take place Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Hollywood and will air live on ABC.

Below is the complete list of films and songs on the shortlists:

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Autokar”
“Butterfly”
“Cardboard”
“Éiru”
“Forevergreen”
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls”
“Hurikán”
“I Died in Irpin”
“The Night Boots”
“Playing God”
“The Quinta’s Ghost”
“Retirement Plan”
“The Shyness of Trees”
“Snow Bear”
“The Three Sisters”

CASTING
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle after Another”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
“Sirât”
“Weapons”
“Wicked: For Good”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Ballad of a Small Player”
“Bugonia”
“Die My Love”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nouvelle Vague”
“One Battle after Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
“Sirât”
“Song Sung Blue”
“Sound of Falling”
“Train Dreams”
“Wicked: For Good”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
“The Alabama Solution”
“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
“Coexistence, My Ass!”
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Cover-Up”
“Cutting through Rocks”
“Folktales”
“Holding Liat”
“Mr. Nobody against Putin”
“Mistress Dispeller”
“My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“Seeds”
“2000 Meters to Andriivka”
“Yanuni”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
“All the Empty Rooms”
“All the Walls Came Down”
“Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud”
“Bad Hostage”
“Cashing Out”
“Chasing Time”
“Children No More: “Were and Are Gone””
“Classroom 4”
“The Devil Is Busy”
“Heartbeat”
“Last Days on Lake Trinity”
“On Healing Land, Birds Perch”
“Perfectly a Strangeness”
“Rovina’s Choice”
“We Were the Scenery”

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Argentina, “Belén”
Brazil, “The Secret Agent”
France, “It Was Just an Accident”
Germany, “Sound of Falling”
India, “Homebound”
Iraq, “The President’s Cake”
Japan, “Kokuho”
Jordan, “All That’s Left of You”
Norway, “Sentimental Value”
Palestine, “Palestine 36”
South Korea, “No Other Choice”
Spain, “Sirât”
Switzerland, “Late Shift”
Taiwan, “Left-Handed Girl”
Tunisia, “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Ado”
“Amarela”
“Beyond Silence”
“The Boy with White Skin”
“Butcher’s Stain”
“Butterfly on a Wheel”
“Dad’s Not Home”
“Extremist”
“A Friend of Dorothy”
“Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
“Pantyhose”
“The Pearl Comb”
“Rock, Paper, Scissors”
“The Singers”
“Two People Exchanging Saliva”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“The Alto Knights”
“Frankenstein”
“Kokuho”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“One Battle after Another”
“Sinners”
“The Smashing Machine”
“The Ugly Stepsister”
“Wicked: For Good”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Bugonia”
“Captain America: Brave New World”
“Diane Warren: Relentless”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Hedda”
“A House of Dynamite”
“Jay Kelly”
“Marty Supreme”
“Nuremberg”
“One Battle after Another”
“Sinners”
“Sirât”
“Train Dreams”
“Tron: Ares”
“Truth and Treason”
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”
“Wicked: For Good”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” from “Tron: Ares”
“Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”
“Dream As One” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“Drive” from “F1”
“Dying To Live” from “Billy Idol Should Be Dead”
“The Girl In The Bubble” from “Wicked: For Good”
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”
“Highest 2 Lowest” from “Highest 2 Lowest”
“I Lied To You” from “Sinners”
“Last Time (I Seen The Sun)” from “Sinners”
“No Place Like Home” from “Wicked: For Good”
“Our Love” from “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from “Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Sweet Dreams Of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!”
“Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”

SOUND
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
“One Battle after Another”
“Sinners”
“Sirât”
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
“Superman”
“Wicked: For Good”

VISUAL EFFECTS
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“The Electric State”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Jurassic World Rebirth”
“The Lost Bus”
“Sinners”
“Superman”
“Tron: Ares”
“Wicked: For Good”